"This increase is likely attributable to a combination of factors, including increased research activity and market pressures for more competitive compensation, particularly in the areas of health care, instruction and research," says a statement from UC's Office of the President.

Pay has been a controversial subject across the UC system as tuition continues to increase and state funding has lagged in recent years. The UC Board of Regents recently approved the hiring of a new president, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, at a salary of $570,000 - about $21,000 less than her predecessor.

According to the figure released Wednesday, the number of UC employees grew 2 percent to 191,000 in 2012.

The largest increase in payroll and funding came at the university's teaching hospitals. Pay in health care and allied sciences jumped nearly 10 percent from 2011 to 2012 to $2.56 billion.

Since 2006, UC payroll has increased 37 percent.

PHOTO: This June 1, 2011 photo shows people as they walk through Sproul Plaza near the Sather Gate on the University of California, Berkeley campus Associated Press/Eric Risberg)